No One Noticed
by TheBigDamnSavior
Summary: No one noticed how Emma's eyes lost their brightness or how her shoulders slumped. No one but Regina. Worried for the Savior, Regina makes a late night house call to visit Emma and finds something unexpected. TW: Attempted suicide, mentions of depression.


I don't own OUaT or any characters. This was just an idea that popped into my head after watching 3x12. This story takes place sometime after the beginning of season 2.

Anyway, please be advised that this story talks about an attempted suicide and implies that a character is depressed. So a TW (trigger warning) in order.

March 17, 2014- I noticed some typos, so I corrected them. They were relatively minor, but please feel free to read the story again.

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No one noticed. Somehow, not a single soul in all of Storybrooke saw how Emma's eyes began to lose their life, their brightness. No one noticed how her voice became quieter, less filled with emotion, less alive. No one saw how her shoulders slumped just a little more each time she stepped out of the apartment she bought herself on the outskirts of the town.

Emma Swan, the Savior, had managed to rescue all of the town's inhabitants from Regina's curse, and yet there was no one to rescue her. Perhaps, they were all too busy getting back to their lives or maybe they just didn't want to see. No one knew that every night Emma would drink until she passed out.

It wasn't until Emma dropped Henry off at Regina's on a cold and dark night that someone noticed. As soon as Henry went inside the house, Regina saw how Emma's smile vanished and how her eyes once again dimmed. She saw how Emma's shoulders slumped down and suddenly the bags under the Savior's eyes became painfully obvious. "Bye, Regina," Emma said as she turned on her heel and left. Regina had only seen the changes for a moment, but she saw what no one else had.

Later that night, after Henry went to bed, Regina snuck out of her house, having left a note of course, and went to the other side of town. As she reached her destination, Regina sighed. She quietly ascended the stairs and knocked on Emma Swan's door. No one answered, nor was there any response from the other side of the door, so Regina teleported into the apartment, appearing with her trademark purple smoke. The first thing, she noticed was that the apartment reeked of alcohol. "Emma?" she called out, hopeful for an answer. As she advanced in the apartment, she saw the huge splash of alcohol on the living room wall and the shattered bottle lying in a brown puddle below it. "Emma, hello? Dammit Swan, where the hell are you?"

As Regina walked even further into the apartment, she happened upon Emma's bedroom door, which was opened just a crack. She pressed her left palm to the door and pushed it open as she looked around the room. Her eyes darted around until she saw the reason why Emma hadn't answered. Regina rushed over to the side of Emma's bed and for a moment froze as she took in the site before her. At Regina's feet lay an open bottle of Jack, which at some point had spilled its contents and was now lying in a puddle with drops slowly falling from its mouth. Next, she noticed a pale hand hanging over the edge of the bed. Her eyes trailed up the pale arm that the hand was attached to and looked at the body that said arm was attached to. Blonde curls painted the pillow and Emma's face was turned away from her. Her eyes continued to roam as she noticed an empty orange bottle in Emma's half closed fist. "Oh Emma," she said sadly, "what have you done?" Regina asked as she pressed her fingers to Emma's neck to find a pulse.

And there it was: the slight fluttering beneath her fingers that told Regina that she wasn't too late, that she didn't have to once again ruin lives with her words. Regina slid her arms under Emma's body and heaved her to the bathroom. Once she settled Emma in front of the toilet bowl, Regina called upon a spell meant to rid a person's body of toxins. After what seemed like hours, Emma stopped retching into the toilet and opened her eyes. "Emma?" Regina asked and she looked into Emma's glazed eyes.

"Regina?" Emma forced out. She took a look around and noticed that she was in her own bathroom. "Regina, why?"

"I think that's a question I should be asking _you_, Emma."

"You called me 'Emma,'" Emma smiled.

"Think you can stand?" Emma nodded in response, so Regina slowly stood, bringing Emma up with her and pulled Emma's arm around her shoulders, as she threaded on around Emma's waist. After the two women reached the couch, Regina lay Emma down on the couch and cast a spell to clean the apartment. She ran back into the bathroom and returned with a wet washcloth and put it on Emma's forehead. "I'm going to heal you, ok?" Regina asked as she held her hands out over Emma's sweating form. A few moments passed and the magic stopped flowing from Regina's hands. "You never answered my question?" Regina reminded Emma as she withdrew her hands.

"They're having another baby." Regina only nodded in response. "Let me tell you a story from my time in the system. I had a family for the first few years of my life. They were nice, I guess, I don't really remember. I was three when they sent me back." Regina only looked at Emma as though she was urging her to continue. "They were finally going to have a baby of their own. So they sent me back. I guess I wasn't good enough," Emma sniffed.

"You feel like you're being replaced," Regina whispered.

"Yeah. They never got to raise me, so now they're replacing me with a new baby. One they can raise to be the daughter they wanted to have. Not an ex-con like me," Emma continued as silent tears cascaded down her face.

"Oh Emma." Regina hugged Emma and held her close. "You may not think that you're good enough, but I promise you're good enough for Henry and your parents and... you're good enough for me. You're perfect to me because I love you. And I didn't realize that I loved you until I was faced with the chance that I may never find out whether you love me back or not."

Emma pulled back and looked at Regina. "I love you, too," Emma said as she leaned forward to kiss Regina. Emma laid her head on Regina's shoulder and Regina wrapped her arms around Emma.

"I'm sorry," Regina said. "It's my fault that you went through all this. Me and my need for revenge. I guess I didn't care whose lives I ruined I just wanted to be happy. But, Emma, you need to know: your parents aren't replacing you, as much as it would seem that way. They're just... they're just getting a second chance to be parents, to be able to raise a child as good as you."

"But they didn't raise me."

"Not directly. But you have their genes, so they were always with you, influencing your actions. It's those genes that made you act like a noble idiot and try to protect Neal. Their genes were responsible for you need to help people and save them," Regina paused. "Everyone deserves a second chance Emma. Think of this as your second chance to be a good example to someone, like you are for Henry."

"You know, Regina, that surprisingly helped, even just a little," Emma murmured.

"Oh thank god. I was hoping it would," Regina exhaled.


End file.
